I’m now working with a big industrial company to help them overhaul their internal mobility program. The company just started using our Performance-based Hiring Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard for external hires and now wants a version to identify current team...
"Moneyball for HR!" is about using data to make better hiring decisions. This one question stops turnover in its tracks and all of the damage it does. It should be asked 100% of the time before any job offer is approved. What does the person need to do in this role to...
Consider this. We've built elaborate systems – competency matrices, skills assessments, personality profiles, behavioral interviews with STAR frameworks – that sound rigorous and scientific. But here's the uncomfortable truth: most organizations have no idea whether...
In 1944, engineers started circulating a brilliantly satirical technical description. The "turbo encabulator" supposedly used "a base plate of prefabulated amulite" to achieve "reciprocation of dingle arms to prevent side fumbling." The joke? It was complete gibberish...
In this earlier postI proposed the idea that we should combine the intellect of Steve Jobs, Alfred Adler, Taiichi Ohno and Albert Einstein and ask them how they would redesign the hiring process from scratch. The working title for the design they created is called...
As an engineering intern in an R&D department almost 60 years ago I learned that there are two basic ways to experiment to validate whether a new manufacturing or business process is effective. The first is testing a specific theory – you think you know what...
Every hiring manager knows this paradox: When we promote someone internally, we're right about 85% of the time. When we hire externally, we fail more than half the time. Why? The answer lies not in our judgment, but in what we can actually measure during the...
I recently heard a great story on Instagram about how Steve Jobs classified employees using an ABC model. It’s based on a simple but powerful metric: how managers feel when someone resigns. When an A-player resigns managers feel terrible, knowing this person will be...
As this research report points out, the most predictive factor in hiring success isn't credentials, experience, or skills – it's the degree of connectedness between candidates and the organization. The graphic above reveals an uncomfortable truth. Internal mobility...
For more than two decades, Gallup has reported on the state of employee engagement in the U.S. The data has been remarkably consistent — and remarkably disheartening. As of 2024, only 31% of employees are engaged in their work, while 17% are actively disengaged. The...
A great candidate experience (CX) is important – especially for the people you don’t hire. It preserves your brand reputation, keeps future talent engaged, and ensures applicants walk away with a positive impression. But if you're serious about building...
"Moneyball for HR!" represents the idea that best people aren't found using traditional resumes and traditional hiring techniques. As hiring managers, we've all felt the sting of a bad hire. The polished resume, the smooth interview, yet the actual performance falls...
Am I wrong here? It seems that in the rush to embrace artificial intelligence for talent acquisition, most companies are missing its most transformative potential. Instead of using AI to simply accelerate transactional hiring processes, only a very few and very...
At our most recent "Moneyball for HR! workshopwe discussed the chart below as a way to calculate Sourcing Channel Profitability. This is comparable to a Product Line Profitability analysis to determine pricing strategy. HR leaders can do something similar by viewing...
It was the best of choices, it was the worst of choices, it was the age of enlightenment, it was the age of willful blindness, it was the epoch of transformation, it was the epoch of stagnation. Before us lay two paths in the realm of talent acquisition: one where...
I asked ChatGPT this question:
First Principles thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves breaking down complex issues into their most basic, foundational elements. Rather than relying on existing assumptions or conventional wisdom, this method encourages questioning every component until the simplest truths are uncovered. When this approach is applied to hiring something unique emerges and it’s not what 95% of companies are doing today.
Hiring top talent should be more than just filling a vacancy. If you’re a hiring manager it’s an investment in your future. If you’re an HR leader or recruiter, it’s how you change your role into a strategic partner. That’s what “Moneyball for HR!” is all about.
Behavioral event interviewing (BEI) has long been a staple in hiring practices, with its proponents arguing that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance using the STAR interviewing techniques (Situation, Task, Action, Result). The premise is simple: by asking candidates to recount specific instances where they demonstrated key competencies, interviewers can gain insights into how they will handle similar situations in the future.
John, the CHRO sat across from Lisa, the CEO, in the executive conference room. They had worked together for years, but today was different. John was about to propose a significant shift in the company’s hiring process, and he knew he needed to make a compelling case.